Messi's Barca future in doubt, club director confirms

Barcelona football director Oscar Grau admits the Catalans may struggle to afford Lionel Messi's new mega-money contract which explains why their talisman is yet to pen a new deal.

The Argentinian who has established himself as the world’s greatest player and the Catalans' all-time record goalscorer has spent his whole career in Spain for the Camp Nou outfit but may be about to leave the side as contract negotiations stall.

Messi's current contract with Barcelona expires in the summer of 2018, and following Oscar Grau's comments on Wednesday, there are now growing fears at Barcelona that the day without Messi in their ranks could come sooner than expected.

"It is a situation we need to look at with cool heads and common sense. Barcelona cannot spend more than 70 per cent of our budget on wages. Therefore, we have to work it out.

"One option is to increase revenues, as we see in our strategic plan. We want to have the best, but maybe we have to prioritise.

"We want the best player in the world, and the best ever, to stay at Barcelona. I would like to reassure members and fans, but we must always act with common sense."

Since making his debut in 2004 at just 17-years-old, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has amassed nearly 500 goals in all competitions for Barcelona and has won an astonishing eight La Liga titles, and has four Champions League winners medals to his name.